• Main theme - “Marine and Coastal Spatial Planning”

The coast is where land meets sea – and where many varied disciplines and challenges also meet. Climate change, environmental planning and monitoring, coastal zone management, urban development, pollution, natural risk management, flooding, economic impact of marine industries – it all happens at the coast. And many governments, including the European Commission acting at pan-European level, now formally recognise the importance of holistic Marine and Coastal Spatial Planning in order to meet the challenges presented in managing our coastlines more effectively – and preserving them for future generations in a time of global sea level change and economic uncertainty. For the full list of proposed themes for the CoastGIS 2011 conference, follow this link.

• The Venue

CoastGIS 2011 will be hosted in Oostende, Belgium, by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchage (IODE) Project Office, situated in the new InnovOcean site on the quayside in Oostende harbour. For more information on IODE and the venue, follow this link. Oostende is ideally suited for a coastal conference, being mid-way on the Belgian coast, between France on the south and the Netherlands to the north. The Belgian coastal region is characterised by much urban development, several natural coastal reserves and much low lying area – thus is home to many of the features that are the focus of the themes for the CoastGIS 2011 conference!

• Exhibition

Interested in Conference Exhibition? Click here.